PEP | Performers Exchange Project

Martha Mendenhall

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Martha Mendenhall has been creating original performance for over 20 years.  As a founding member of the Charlottesville theatre company Foolery, Martha assisted in the development of and performed in the BBC “Most Innovative” award winning Cyrano; created, directed and performed in Cesario; and performed in the short film The Winemaker.

With Performers Exchange Project, Martha spearheaded an exchange with and presentation of the internationally acclaimed DAH Theatre, created and produced A Charlottesville Wunderkammer, and directed Shentai — two arts carnivals that celebrated Charlottesville area artists/performers and their work.  Martha wrote and directed the short play Loony Bin Tragedy and worked with PEP members to develop Dido Versus the Squid Monster for these carnivals. She instigated and directed collaborative creation of PEP’s full-length Our American Ann Sisters and directed the first iteration of The Convolution of Pip and Twig, an original work developed and performed by fellow PEP company members Sian Richards and Kara McLane Burke.

Martha trained with The Atlantic Theatre CompanyDAH Theatre and at The San Francisco Butoh Festival.  She also trained extensively with B. Stanley (a former assistant to Ingemar Lindh) of Theatre Du Jour in Washington, DC, performing in three TDJ projects.

Always eager to expand her artistic horizons, Martha recently earned an MFA in Professional Screenwriting. In the near future, she plans to develop TV and film projects. Martha lives in North Carolina and earns her bread and butter as a freelance writer, director and teacher.